In the thunderous sound of horses' hooves, I saw dozens of horses whistling towards me.

Unlike the cavalry that was used to seeing in those years, especially the cavalry that Du Zeng had seen, the equipment of these Xuzhou cavalry was so sophisticated and perfect that it was outrageous. All of them are dressed in iron scale armor that only military generals can afford, wearing metal shackles, white feathers inserted into them, neck guards, and shawls, armor skirts hanging down to the knees, and even leather boots are inlaid with iron leaves, as if they are gods descending to earth! What's even more terrifying is that the war horses under its crotch seem to be also armored, and then decorated with colorful ornaments, suddenly looking at it, it is not a horse, but a legendary monster that only appears with teeth and claws, and wants to choose people to eat at any time!

Du Zengrong has never seen such a well-equipped and imposing cavalry in his half life!

In these years, the cavalry was divided into light and heavy, and the light cavalry was mainly used for cruising and reconnaissance, and most of them only had leather armor like a vest, with bows and arrows, and short knives, and were mainly used for cavalry shooting; The heavy cavalry was relatively tightly protected, but at most it added a few metal fittings, two short shawls on the upper body to protect the big arms, and held spears to charge head-on to scatter or cut the enemy line.

Du Zeng had heard of it, but did not actually see it, the Xianbei people, especially the Tuoba Department of Daibei, trained a team of heavy cavalry that is unparalleled in the world, the knights are full of leather armor, embellished with metal parts, and the equipment is not weaker than ordinary generals, and people hold a heavy riding spear, called "lance" - because of the meaning of stabbing in Xianbei language, it is called "barking". In front of him, could it be that Pei Cai summoned Tuoba Xianbei's elite cavalry to help? But even the legendary Xianbei Heavy Rider doesn't seem to have such sophisticated equipment!

What kind of horses are those? The horses are dressed in armor, and the knights on their bodies are like iron men, and they can run like flies on their backs, and their hooves fall to the ground like a heavy hammer beating a drum! This must be a good horse on the grassland!

At that time, in the military aspect, there was a complete food chain, and under normal circumstances, the southerners were afraid of the northerners - the memory of Soochow being wiped out in an instant still existed in the hearts of many people, and would flood from time to time - bandits were afraid of the official army, the official army was afraid of Hulu, and Hulu was afraid of Xianbei...... Du Zeng's background is neither south nor north, sandwiched in the middle, but most of the soldiers under his command are the natives of Jingzhou who followed and fled from the south of the Yangtze River, and they have been bandits all the year round, and have been defeated by the officials and soldiers many times, just like a rabbit at the bottom of the food chain, and now they suddenly encounter the tiger at the top, or even the legendary dragon, how can they not be afraid?

Then the Jingzhou soldiers did not dare to attack the enemy's edge at all, and it was reasonable to collapse instantly when they saw these heavy cavalry rushing closer.

Even Du Zeng himself was surrounded by the defeated army, and even more so by the tribesmen, and involuntarily turned his horse's head and fled, not daring to face the terrible heavy cavalry, even if there were only a few dozen horses. The last thought in his mind before the disengagement was:

Zu and Pei are one, and Zu Ti is friends with Liu Kun of Jinyang, so it is not surprising that Liu Kun asked for the help of dozens or hundreds of Xianbei heavy riders from the grassland...... How many such heavy rides are there in Tuoba Xianbei, and they are willing to be with people?!

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Thousands of mountains and rivers are blocked, Pei Gai has never been in contact with Liu Kun, let alone asking for Tuoba Xianbei's help through him, in fact, these heavy cavalry were formed and trained by him, they are all from the Central Plains, not a foreign race, and it is very likely that they are more powerful than the real Xianbei heavy cavalry, to some extent.

This new type of cavalry is different from the traditional heavy cavalry, and later generations have a proper noun, called "armored cavalry", which is explained in the "Song History: Yiwei Zhi": "Armored cavalry, human armor; Equipped, horse armor also. "The earliest possible appearance was the Parthian Empire in Central Asia after BC, while in China it began with the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and reached its final glory in the Sui and early Tang dynasties, where the Jin Dynasty is said to have had a revival.

Armoured cavalry was born very early, but to really take shape and be able to exert great power on the battlefield, it must have two important conditions, one is a good horse, and the other is a good stirrup. Not only carrying knights, but also carrying human armor and horse armor to participate in the battle, that must be extremely handsome and majestic Central Asian Liangji, even if the general war horse can be carried, it is estimated that it will not be able to take a few steps before it will snort and gasp, and then lose fat, and even die of exhaustion.

The war horses in the Central Plains generally lack this quality, even after the introduction of the Dawan "Heavenly Horse" by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the improvement of the horse breed, I am afraid that it is still difficult to find one of the thousands of horses that can be used as equipment. At present, it is not clear whether the Xianbei people have been hybridized for a long time, especially because the Tuoba Xianbei occupies the Daidai land, and can communicate smoothly with Central Asia, so that they can obtain resources similar to good horses - whether there has been hybridization, it is not clear.

The second is that there must be stirrups. In the era of stirrups, knights relied on their legs to clamp the horse's belly to fix themselves - although even if there was a stirrup, they had to rely on the clamp when galloping - and when wearing dozens of pounds or even heavier riding armor, the physical exertion was too great, and if there was no stirrup to assist, it was estimated that even the strength to carry the spear would be lacking. Therefore, although armored cavalry appeared very early, they were only a few elites, and it was only after the invention of the stirrup that it could really become a common type of troops.

For example, after Tuoba Xianbei entered the Central Plains.

Whether the current Tuoba Xianbei already has stirrups, Pei Gai is not clear, but according to Liu Yetang, who has seen the Xianbei cavalry, there is still a certain gap between the Tuoba heavy cavalry and the real armored cavalry in later generations, mainly because the equipment is lighter, most of the knights are wearing leather armor, and the war horses are only protected by thick felt - after all, this thing is too expensive, and the Tuoba family has no surplus food!

Now that he already has stirrups, Pei Cai wants to make a real armored horse, although he knows that the investment is too large, and it is difficult to be proportional to the output, but there is no need to do more, there are dozens of horses, and when they are put into battle at a critical moment, it is estimated that they can scare the enemy to death - just like the German infantry saw tanks for the first time in World War I.

But because of the constraints of various factors, Pei Gai has never been like it. The first is the lack of good horses, few horses can carry such heavy people and armor, and the second is that the armor-making technology is still relatively backward, and it is impossible to make the iron-canned plate armor of the European medieval knights - if there is plate armor, it is estimated that there will not be many weapons to break the defense in these years.

So in the end, I can only settle for the next best, just god-like. He selected thirty soldiers who were powerful and powerful, but did not exceed the standard of their own weight, with sixty good horses, and dressed all the knights in scale armor as light as possible—in fact, the shawl, armor skirt, etc. were still made of leather, and the key parts were decorated with a few pieces of thin iron—equipped with metal stirrups and Xianbei iron lances imitated according to Liu Yetang's shape, and then clothed the war horses with felt, put on leather curtains and chicken necks, and deliberately painted them with five colors, so that people could not see the texture, and they would suspect that they were all wearing iron armor like knights......

After training, such heavy cavalry could march three to five miles on foot, accelerate the charge, and at most half a mile (one hundred and fifty paces) would be the end. It is estimated that when the two formations are deadlocked, they can use the powerful impact to try to break through the mixed formation of knives and spears in the front of the enemy's army - as long as they are not strict enough - and even trample on the archers in the back, and then they must jump off their horses and replace them with heavy infantry in the trap.

The same is true today, Pei Gai waved his bamboo cane behind the battle, and at the sound of an order, those heavy cavalry began to wear armor and equip weapons. Each heavy cavalry was accompanied by two auxiliaries to help maintain the horses, while one assisted the cavalry in armor and one to equip the horses. Then the heavy cavalry stepped on an armourless horse, and the auxiliaries led another armoured horse and galloped slowly into the battlefield. When they were about two hundred paces away from the enemy, the heavy cavalry changed horses, and then gradually accelerated, holding their hands long and rushing towards the enemy formation.

In fact, according to the battle report on the front line, Liu Yetang's troops had just joined the battle, and the Jingzhou soldiers were on the verge of collapse, and the opposing cavalry attacking from the flanks was also successfully broken by Wen Lang. It's just that Pei Gai has never had a chance to use it since he organized these thirty horses, so he said that it would be better to take advantage of this battle and send it out to do an experiment. Because just this mere thirty horsemen, whether it really works on the unpredictable battlefield, or whether it can just be put on as an honor guard to be scary, in fact, he has no bottom in his heart.

The result of the experiment was very successful, the armored cavalry had just approached the enemy formation, and no one was killed, and the Jingzhou soldiers completely collapsed, and the men and horses galloped, trampling on each other and dying. After the battle, thirty shrunken armored horsemen, less than ten of the real spears were stabbed by the enemy, and five times as many were injured and trampled to death.

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As soon as he saw Xuzhou's armored cavalry, Du Zeng couldn't help but be horrified - especially when he was frightened and busy, he couldn't tell that the other party only had thirty horsemen, and thought that there would be a hundred horsemen or even more - he turned his horse and fled, not even daring to think of defending the city, he just wanted to find Wang Gong quickly, pick up the fifth yi, and then flee south to Xiangyang.

After all, the defense of Xiangyang City is much stronger than that of Wancheng, and there are still more than 2,000 defenders left, and more importantly, Pei Gai may not chase so far, right? Could it be that he really left Xuzhou alone, and wanted to travel thousands of miles to capture Jingzhou?

I couldn't help complaining to Wang Gong in my heart: You have a good idea, what should you do if you have nothing to do to provoke Pei?! After thinking about it again, the Xuzhou army is so strong, should I simply give up the fifth Yi and switch to Pei......

Running all the way to the north gate of Wancheng, I was undecided in my heart and it was difficult to make a decision. When I looked up, I saw that the drawbridge was still pulling, the gate was still closed, and countless defeated soldiers were shouting and opening the door to the city. Du Zengxin said that I haven't come back yet, who dares to open the door for you? Beckoning the subordinates beside him, he helped to raise his voice towards the city and shouted: "General Du is here, don't open the city quickly, let me wait in!" He also turned his head to glance at the battlefield as he spoke, but fortunately the monsters didn't chase after him...... Yes, their equipment is so heavy, it is estimated that they will not be able to run fast, and the charge will not last, and I still have time to flee into the city.

Turning around again, I saw a human head poking out of the city wall, vaguely looking not Wang Gong, nor the fifth Yi, but Xun Song. Immediately, I heard someone next to Xun Song shouting: "This city is not owned by General Du, how can General Du enter the city?" It's better to flee quickly, so as not to be killed by Pei Yuanjun! ”

Du Zeng was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "Why is Xun Gong like this?" Where is the Fifth Prince?! ”

The castle replied, "I've been imprisoned!" ”

Du Zengxin said this straw bag, I have long known that he is unreliable, there are still a lot of soldiers and horses and troops in the city that he brought from the north, how can Xun Song, who does not know how to fight, easily succeed in a coup d'état? Hurriedly asked again: "Where is the prince?" ”

The city replied: "I haven't put it into the city, but I have gone around the city." ”

Du Zeng was so panicked that he was at a loss, and now the only life-saving straw was Wang Gong, and when he heard that Wang Gong was still alive and had not fallen into the hands of Xun Song, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He said in his heart that he should flee back to Xiangyang quickly, or simply descend to Xuzhou, it is better to wait for me to find Wang Gong and then discuss with him. So he turned his horse's head and fled to the west—where had Wang Gong gone? I don't know, I can only try to hit the big luck. The Xuzhou army came from the east, so it would be human instinct to flee west.

Just as he spread the horse's hooves, he suddenly heard someone behind him shouting: "You are Du Zeng?" Don't go, Master Zhen is here, but come back and fight! ”

Du Zeng didn't dare to turn back, let alone slow down the horse's speed, no matter who this "Master Zhen" was, in short, he was friend or foe, he lowered his body slightly, and just whipped and galloped......

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Since Zhen Sui went to the front line, he had been stationed in the horse formation for less than a quarter of an hour, and his hands were itching when he saw that the Jingzhou army's heart was shaken, and he was not the opponent of his army at all. So he handed over command to an adjutant and rode his horse to the front. When he got off the horse in the place, he rushed into the enemy line with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, and he was invincible.

It is precisely because he did not ride a horse, so although he was brave, he was not too concerned by the enemy generals, and Du Zeng's general Su Wen failed to encounter him, but was injured by Xie Feng. Until the complete collapse of the Jingzhou soldiers, Zhen Sui was also covered in blood - basically the blood of the enemy - even the knife has been replaced, the shield has been replaced by two, it is difficult to meet a joint enemy under his hands, and nine out of nine is a dead end, and it is rare for someone to escape with injuries.

The Jingzhou soldiers were scattered, and Zhen followed him to chase and kill, like a tiger fighting a sheep, but he felt that it was not very enjoyable, so he re-mounted his horse, looked for the enemy general everywhere, and was instructed by the Jingzhou troops, and soon found Du Zeng. Zhen Sui shouted and rode his horse from the flank, but Du Zeng didn't look back, just fled on horseback. Zhen Sui visually observed that the distance between the two sides was about sixty steps, so as soon as he turned over, he jumped off the galloping war horse, ran a few steps quickly, and then stood still and took off the bow and arrow from his back.

He had a long and large bow, which was difficult to fully draw on a horse, and he had never learned to use a bow at gallop when he first learned horsemanship. After taking off the step bow, Zhen Sui put on an iron cluster carving feather, and with a "drink", he completely pulled it away, aiming at Du Zeng's back heart and shooting it with a fierce arrow.

Du Zeng heard the sound of gold and iron breaking the wind behind him, and hurriedly whipped the horse's buttocks again. In his mind, as long as he galloped forward, there was no need to dodge, and at the end of the strong crossbow, the arrow was helpless. Who expected that Zhen followed the bow and arrows quickly, and the two sides were already a hundred steps away, but the arrow still caught up with the galloping horse, hitting Du Zeng's heart. Du Zeng let out a "ahhhhhh

When Zhen Sui saw it, he couldn't help but look up to the sky and laugh, and waved his hand to greet his subordinates: "Go, cut off the head of that guy, the master is going to dedicate himself to the governor!" ”

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